Deceiver of Fools
by Lunnar-Eclipse
Summary: When infamous monster hunter, Gabriel Van Helsing and his assistant Carl are sent to Transylvania to protect Princess Anna Valerious, (And aid in the removal of the venomous Count Dracula) he never would have expected to meet a powerful sorceress...let alone her four other friends who all seem to have a few of their own tricks up their sleeves.
1. Chapter 1

_Demon takes the angel's breath,  
To an end in silence.  
The angel cries tears in blood,  
As they disappear into the sky. _

_-Imperia_

* * *

The village was small, quiet and quaint—everything you expected such a harmless little thing to be. The houses were small, and made of wood while a lone church stood in the middle made of bricks showing off its superiority. The roofs were topped with light snow, the trees dead and leafless. Every-so-often, a strong wind would blow through the desolate and silent area, causing a ruckus with the trees and old shingles; all of them shrieking and moaning their discomfort. Nothing at all seemed odd—_pop_! A loud and sudden noise echoed throughout the vicinity causing several birds to squawk and fly off in the opposite direction. As strange as the sound was, nothing seemed to have come from it…except for one lone woman.

She was more of a teenager than a woman, her obvious grin and lack of wrinkles and empty head seemed to justify for her young age. She had long, silky black hair that danced behind her in the wind. Her eyes were dark, and looked almost black. Her outfit seemed completely out of place for such an area, she wearing nothing but a small top and long skirt. Her skin was much darker than someone of that region and her nails were long and carefully groomed—obvious signs that she was not used to living in a poor household. She took a long breath before smiling cruelly, soon making her way through the town.

"This place is awfully rural…and quite small. Why would Faragonda send us to here of all places?" She questioned, glancing around the area. "Ack, it's so cold and gross here." She hissed, rubbing her arms furiously as yet another gust of wind blew through the village. She continued making her way forward until a sudden noise caught her attention. She whirled around, her eyes narrowed and her body poised—ready to fight. Her eyes scanned the landscape seeing nothing in sight. "Must have been the wind…" She whispered, but soon the snapping of more branches caused unease to take hold of her. She could feel her power seeping through her veins, just aching to get out; aching to become unleashed; aching to show this thing that she was not one to be messed with.

There was silence and then a high pitched screech filled the air. The girl spun to her right to see a large, dark skinned, winged-creature heading straight for her. Her eyes widened at the site, but she did not move. She wasn't scared of this monster. She could take care of it by herself—she had dealt with worse before. The thing hissed, flying until it was just above her. "Well, look what we have here, some new blood!" The voice was that of a woman, heavily accented, and it even had hair...light, curly blond hair. "What the hell?" The girl spat, her head cocking to the side on confusion. The thing giggled; a cruel, high-pitched sound. "What, never seen a vampire before my dear?" The girl had a look of surprise planted on her face. "A vampire….? Oh hell." The creature laughed, before swooping down rapidly, heading straight for its prey.

The girl quickly dodged, glaring at the vampire. "Oh so that's how you want to go? Well, two can play at that game—Gloomix!" She snarled, a black aura surrounding her as she changed into her new form. Her makeup became darker and much more prominent, her arms receiving dark blue gloves, her original outfit growing longer, darker and her simple heels becoming high black boots. The creature scoffed. "What is this heathen magic?" It snarled, the girl smirking. "Solar ray!" She shouted, a bright beam of sunlight shooting from her hands and hitting the vampires on her right wing. It hissed in pain and flew off in the opposite direction, landing on a roof to pat out the flames. "You'll pay for that!" She barked, heading straight for her again. "Are you really going to try this again?" The witch mused, her hands soon leaking with silver-colored liquid. As soon as the vampire was within range, she launched a massive amount of the mysterious fluid straight at it. The vampire screeched in horrid pain, her skin bubbling where the substance had touched her. "What is this?!" She snarled, as it made its way into her skin, causing her to scream louder; flailing her body hopelessly around the ground as though means of ridding off of her. "Mercury in its purest state…how does it feel?" The vampire screamed in agony once more, her body shifting shape as she transformed back into her human form; her skin burned, black and bubbly. "You will pay….!" She hissed, before vanishing into a thick cloud of black smoke. The girl snorted before dusting off her hands. "Well that was tedious…."

"Good God did you see _that_? She killed a vampire…by using magic!" The girl whirled around to find a group of people standing behind her, their faces filled with awe, confusion and even the up-most respect. "Yeah, why's that such a surprise?" She asked back, a few people mumbling to each other. "What's so surprising is that vampires should never even become that injured by someone using magic…since they do have mysterious powers themselves." The girl rolled her eyes. "And what makes you such the expert on these creatures?" There was silence before a man wearing a long brown overcoat and hat made his way out of the crowd and towards her; a craven little blond man following behind him. "Because I hunt them for a living…the name's Van Helsing." There was a slight gasp from the crowd, and soon a few of the villagers began giving disapproving looks to this so called _Van Helsing_. "Oh you hunt them for a living? How quaint, and I am the queen of this land, come here summoned by the Wiccan to defeat the Devil." She laughed, the man giving her a quizzical look. "You're the queen of Transylvania? You look far too young to be Anna's mother…besides, she died awhile ago." The girl raised an eyebrow at him. "What the hell are you talking about? I was merely joking, you know."

"Well it isn't funny!" A heavily accented voice snapped, a tall woman with curly brown hair soon appearing from the crowd. "Oh Lord…who are you?" The woman gave her a smirk, her brown eyes flashing maliciously. "I am Anna Valerious, ruler of this land…and you are?" The girl ran her eyes over the three people who just now presented themselves to her; as if checking if they were genuine or not. "I am Zatura." She seemed as though she had more to say, but she did not reveal it. She barely knew these people they needn't know everything about her yet. "Well, _Zatura_," Anna started, saying her name as though it were something unpleasant. "We are grateful that you've helped get rid of Aleera for us but the means as to how you got rid of her were quite controversial as well. You were using black magic, and that is the Devil's work." Zatura rolled her eyes. "Oh don't tell me you all are the religious and superstitious type." Anna raised an eyebrow. "Of course we have a religion. Why, Van Helsing over there works for the Vatican itself." Zatura looked at Van Helsing curiously. "Why would the Vatican be sending you out to go and fight off monsters? Sure they're not the _holiest _looking things on the planet, but they aren't evil." Gabriel chuckled at her. "You seem so blissfully ignorant over this whole matter…no creature is holy, so of course they are evil—vampires especially. They are the spawn of the son of Satan himself."

"Wait, you don't mean Count Dracula, do you?"

"Well of course we do, how else could we be talking about?" The blond man finally spoke, giving her a rather condescending tone. "Wait so you mean he's real?" Van Helsing laughed. "Of course he is, where do you think that thing came from?" Zatura put her hands to her hips, overall confused over the whole situation. How could Dracula be real? He was the monster that every little kid knew and read about as they grew up; everyone she knew owned a copy of Bram Stroker's novel about the infamous Count!

She made her way slowly towards the threesome, looking them over once more. "So don't tell me, you've come here to hunt down Dracula, haven't you?" Van Helsing smiled lightly. "I see you learn fast…yes, Carl here and I have been sent to help kill Dracula." Zatura raised her eyebrow. "'Help'? Who are you supposed to be helping?" Van Helsing pointed to Anna, Zatura merely laughing in response. "You need help? Come now, vampires mustn't be that hard to kill?" Anna glared at her. "My entire family has been killed by Dracula. I hate him with every fiber in my body. If the greatest soldiers in my family couldn't kill him, what makes you thing that a woman like me could take him down all on my own?" Zatura merely shrugged. "I don't know, why don't you just use some of that Holy magic and sunlight that kills him? I would have thought everyone should know this by now." It was now Anna's turn to laugh. "Aren't you foolish? Dracula cannot be killed by such simple artifacts…do you think that we all haven't tried these things before? Stake through the heart, sunlight, setting him alight…none of these things has worked!"

"Which is why," Van Helsing snaps, butting in into Anna's rant. "The Vatican has sent me over to protect Anna in killing him."

"Oh Van Helsing how sweet; I never realized that you cared so much about me that you would come all the way to see me." A new, heavily accented voice cooed, everyone whirling around to find a man with long black hair and black outfit standing there, grinning cruelly. "Dracula!" Someone yells, everyone screaming and fleeing in utter terror and panic. In a matter of seconds, the large group which stood behind the four had vanished; leaving them with the infamous Count Dracula.

Anna narrowed her eyes and unsheathed her sword. "What do you want?" She hissed, Dracula giving her a pleasant smile in response. "Why must you always think I need something?" Anna raised her sword, challenging the man. "Do you really think that that is going to do anything?"

"No, but this will," Van Helsing suddenly snapped, bringing out a large crossbow and firing five consecutive silver arrows at Dracula. He snarled, his face contorting into a horrible shape as the beast he truly was threatened to break free. "Now's our chance to run for it!" Carl hissed, Anna nodding 'no'. "Let's see what we can accomplish…maybe Zatura could show off those impress powers of hers." Zatura glared at Anna. "Of course, typical—make the powerful one do all the work." She walked a few paces ahead, Dracula snarling as he roughly pulled out the arrows; his wounds healing almost immediately. Zatura's eyes widened, baffled at what just happened. "You never told me he could heal himself!" Dracula chuckled. "Oh I can do far more than that." Zatura narrowed her eyes at him, before jumping into the air firing a series of solar rays at him. Dracula merely vanished, re-appearing anywhere but the landing sites of the magic. "Oh…you missed." Zatura glared at him, before firing another round of mercury at him—Dracula merely vanishing once again. "Stop moving you!" She snarled, Dracula smirking. Zatura flew towards him and gushed out a large blast of sulfuric acid; the blast hitting his face causing him to snarl in pain and vanish away to recover.

Zatura grinned maliciously. "Time to finish this," She snarled, causing high gravity around Dracula, forcing him unto the ground—making him immobile. "Oh look, I guess I'm the one who is now victorious." She grinned, Dracula snarling at her. "Be careful!" Carl snapped, Zatura merely ignoring him. "Don't worry, I've placed him under gravity of that equal to Jupiter's….there's no way he'll be able to get up unless I—sonofabitch!" She gasped, as Dracula grabbed her firmly by the ankles, lifting her up with his massive strength as her transformed into his Hell beast form. "Van Helsing—Anna—somebody: help!" Zatura screamed, as Dracula lifted her up high, preparing to fly off. "Let her loose!" Van Helsing shouted, firing multiple arrows in Dracula's direction. Dracula easily dodged them, soon flying off into the opposite direction. "Dracula!" Anna shouted, the beast ignoring their cries and attacks as he flew off straight for his castle.

"Oh no! Van Helsing, he got her! We have to go and save her!" Carl gasped, Gabriel cursing and throwing his weapon to the ground angrily. "How can we? We don't even know where Dracula hides out! We've never even found his original castle." Anna snapped back. "We must do something—uh…guys, what is that?" Carl whispered, fear creeping into his voice. "What are you talking about—" His mouth dropped open as he saw, before his eyes, a gaping blue hole appear and four girls walk out; the three monster hunters gaping in amazement at what appeared before them all.

* * *

**Author's Note: Hello! So, this story will be set during the events of the film, but will take on the plot that I have desired. I hope you all aren't too confused by Zatura and what she is. (It will be further explained in the next chapter) Anyways, I hope that you liked this chapter! Please read and review.**


	2. Chapter 2

_Who am I to overrule;_

_Believers at the wonder wall;_

_Some illusions come undone and violently._

_-Kamelot_

* * *

Gabriel, Anna and Carl couldn't believe what they had just seen; four teenage girls has just simply appeared and were now stepping out of a glowing hole…which was merely floating in nothingness. The four seemed perfectly normal, and if they had not appeared out of that—thing—they probably would have never been noticed. The group consisted of: a girl with short brown hair and deep blue eyes, one with black and pink hair, one with long caramel-colored hair and finally one with long black pigtails.

The three monster hunters didn't know what to do. Should they ask them who they are? Should they ask about the mysterious portal? Should they ask if they knew that witch Zatura? None of them spoke, and silence echoed out through the deadly quiet town…that was, until the black and pink haired girl spoke up. "Why are you two so quiet, never seen a girl exit out of a magic-portal before?" Carl nodded his head 'no' rather quickly. The girl smirked before slowly making her way towards the group. Her eyes narrowed and looked over each one of them quickly—figuring them out quite easily. She then placed her hands on her hips, eyes narrowing as her lips thinned and her cocky expression changed into that of malice. "I know that you three know something and that you're not telling us what it is." Carl's face exposed nothing but his fear and anxiety. "Should we tell them?" He mumbled to Van Helsing. "What was that?" The girl snarled, Carl jumping. Van Helsing placed a steady hand on his friend's shoulder. "Let me handle this," He whispered back.

He walked up a few paces until he was only a few inches away from this girl. "We do know something, but what makes you think that we'll tell you?" The girl sneered, her eyes glowing red for the slightest second. "You better tell us before I kick your sorry a—" A hand was swiftly placed unto her shoulder by the girl with long, caramel-colored hair. "Obviously your tactic of sass and attitude is not working with these people Heather, let me handle it." She said sharply, yet softly. The girl, Heather, gave the other a nasty glare before resigning and making her way back to the others. "I apologize," The girl began, her eyes kind and soft. "…for my friend's attitude. She is one of those people who usually act's before thinking." Gabriel nodded. "It's fine, I can act the same way myself." The girl smiled softly. "I was just wondering if you three _did _see something…or someone. You see, we came here with one more person and we don't know where she could have disappeared off to." Gabriel raised an eyebrow. "What did this person look like?"

"She had long black hair and was wearing a dark blue jumpsuit of-the-sort." The girl with short brown hair said, Anna finally speaking up, "Her name didn't happen to be Zatura, did it?" The girl whom Gabriel was just speaking with smiled, and nodded her head 'yes' rather quickly. "Yes, that's her! So…you've seen her haven't you?" Gabriel frowned. How was he going to explain to these girls that their friend had been kidnapped by the most notorious and infamous monster in all of Europe?

* * *

"_On the silent shore I confronted fear,_

_I spoke to God but he wasn't there…"_

_-Kamelot_

* * *

Dracula entered the castle for at the time being, he would remain calling home, with an unconscious teen-age witch in his arms. He glided through the cold and empty halls of the castle, soon arriving at the room where he wanted to place this heathen—a containment cell. He dropped her roughly unto the floor and strapped heavy iron chains unto her arms and legs. He looked her over, precariously making his way back towards the exit. He could sense that this one was powerful…he could feel and even smell the power that flowed through her veins. She was deadly, witty…and yet he could not distinguish just what kind of special little creature she was. She certainly wasn't one of the Devil's children…he would have recognized her scent or at least have known her from somewhere else. But then where in the name of Heaven and Hell did she receive such powerful and destructive abilities?

"_Master_…" A voice cooed, catching his attention. Dracula whirled around to find Marishka standing there, her eyes opaque and fangs glittering in the faint light. "What is it my dear?" Marishka gave him a coy smirk before gliding to where he was standing. "Who is this?" Dracula looks at the sorceress once more, before shrugging. "I don't know…all that I do know however, is that she is very skilled and strong." Marishka perked up at this. "Really, do you think she might be a vampire?" Dracula chuckled. "Of course not, she is certainly alive and has blood flowing." His youngest bride's eyes glittered with excitement at the mention of blood. "Have you brought her here for my sisters and I to feast upon?" Dracula raised his eyebrow. "No…" His answer was hesitant, causing the bride to give him a curious look. "And why not?" Dracula smiled lightly. "I want to find out where this little she-devil gets her powers and how she knows Van Helsing...she will be no use to me if dead." The petite-blond merely nodded before turning and vanishing in a cloud of black smoke—leaving the prince of darkness with this enchantress of dark magic.

* * *

"So, do you know where Zatura is, or not?" The girl asked once more, Gabriel sensing that she was beginning to feel a little impatient with his silence. "Van Helsing, why don't you let me tell them?" Anna suddenly snapped, Van Helsing nodding his head 'no'. "I've had experience with dealing with these kinds of creatures far more than you have, Anna." The Valerious princess narrowed her eyes at him. "My whole family was killed by this monster, and you're telling me that I have no experience with dealing with these kinds of problems and emotions?" Gabriel flinched; she got him there. Anna made her way towards the girl, soon placing a face filled with kindness. "I am sorry to say but she was carried off by Count Dracula." The girl's eyes widened. "Count Dracula? But, he's just a story, an urban legend!" The girl with short brown hair gasped, Gabriel chuckling. "He's far from just a simple legend, that's for sure." The girls mumbled and soon had fear and worry etched unto their faces…except for one: Heather.

"Dracula? Just tell me where this guy lives and I'll take him out without even batting an eye!" Anna sneered. "He's not as weak as you might think." Heather rolled her eyes. "Please, if it's anything that I've seen from those stupid human movies, than all you need is something holy or something wooden and you're set." Anna laughed. "You all know nothing of how strong he can really be, and it's not like he's a lone either."

"What do you mean?" The girl with black-pigtails asked. "Dracula has three brides that have been with him for over four hundred years. Their names are Verona, Marishka and Aleera. They are all very powerful and could kill you all very easily." Heather just scoffed. "They're just prissy four-hundred-year-old bats. They shouldn't be _that _hard to kill." Anna narrowed her eyes. "It amuses yet frightens me how oblivious you all are at how dangerous these creatures can truly be." The girl who calmed Heather down earlier soon spoke up. "We're not completely useless and weak ourselves, you know." Gabriel raised an eyebrow. "Do you have abilities like Zatura?" The girl with short brown hair nodded 'yes' to this. "We each have powers and abilities unique to only us. Like, I, Susan, control plants and Athina," She point to the girl with black pig-tails. "Has the power over imagination, and Silvia," She nods her head in the direction of the girl with caramel-colored hair. "Has powers of the future, and Heather was powers of lying and hatred." The three monster hunter's seemed easily interested in this information. "Now, forgive me if this sounds rude in this slightest, but what would all call yourselves?" Carl asks, Silvia nodding. "It's not rude at all and Susan, Athina and I are fairies while Heather—and even Zatura—are witches."

"Fairies…? You mean the little, female creatures of mischief?" Gabriel asked, obviously confused. Athina giggled. "Now, but we do have magical creatures similar to that where we're from, yet we call them pixies. We are fairies and though we are not small and impish, we certainly have elegant outfits and magical abilities like them." Carl looked rather intrigued. "Would you mind showing us?" Before any of the fairies could step up, Heather walked over and created a red a black beam—tossing it at a tree causing is to implode and become reduced to ash. "There, who've seen some _wonderful _magic, now would you mind leading us all to this so-called Dracula so I can kick his butt and save Zatura?" Silvia narrowed her eyes at Heather. "Acting like this won't help in making them trust us Heather!" She snapped back, Heather making a face. "Don't worry, it's not that we're worried you'd jinx us or anything it's just that…no one really knows the whereabouts of Dracula or his castle." Anna admitted, looking slightly ashamed. "How can nobody know where this guy lives?" Susan asked, Van Helsing sighing. "No one has ever found it. My father tried looking for it for years and he barely got any farther than my grandfather did." Susan frowned. "Then how are we supposed to find Zatura?" Gabriel just shook his head. "I am not sure…"

"Eugh you guys are completely useless!" Heather snarls, before a black light encircles her, she transforming into her Gloomix. "That looks like Zatura's outfit!" Carl gasps, Heather rolling her eyes. "Yeah, yeah…" She clapped her hands and formed small wings in her hands. "What are those things?" Van Helsing asks, walking up to try and get a close look. "They're a miniaturized version of my Tracix wings…just because I was turned into a witch by dark magic doesn't mean I still don't have any of my previous tricks and spells." She said smirking. "Well, what does it do?" Anna wondered, folding her arms to her chest. "These wings will allow the user to see back in the past—but only for a short period of time." Silvia nodded. "It's true…my powers are similar, but I'm not yet strong enough to portray what I'm seeing to everyone." Heather snickered. "Then you're lucky I can still do this then, huh?" After a few flicks of her wrist, a sudden blurry white coat covered the area; making everything appear as if someone were watching it through a glass covered in thick condensation. Soon, the group could see the past Gabriel, Anna and Carl and even Zatura. "This is about the time she was taken." Gabriel states, and soon enough, they all could see Dracula grab Zatura and take off in flight.

"There!" Heather said, snapping her fingers. "What is it?" Athina asks, Heather rolling her eyes. "Don't you see it? He's flying in that direction!" She points to where Dracula is flying. "Yeah, so, that doesn't mean that's where his castle is." Susan snaps, Heather rubbing her head. "No, but now I can sense his magical energy field. It's really strong and dark…I'm sure that I'll be able to trace it to at least a few hundred yards of his actual castle." Silvia smiled. "That's awesome Heather! Good job." Soon, the scene shifted and it was back to normal; everything regaining the clarity that it once had. "Sure, whatever…now, I'll need to focus so you all need to shut up." Everyone went silent as Heather began her focus and soon a black portal appeared a few feet in front of them.

"So that will lead us to Dracula's castle?" Anna asks, Heather nodding 'yes'. "It won't be exactly at the entrance and what-not, but it will be pretty close." Anna nods, but looks rather hesitant about going into the portal. Heather sighs and walks over. "There's nothing to be frightened of…it's not going to bite." Susan walked over and offered Anna her hand. "Don't worry, it's the safest form of magical travel there is!" Anna still looked hesitant but before she could complain once more, Susan had dragged her in. "Anna!" Gabriel shouted, glaring at Heather and the others. "Don't worry, she's fine." Silvia said calmly, smiling softly. "I wouldn't be so sure of that…" Carl mumbles, looking skittishly at the gaping hole. "Oh come on, it will be fun!" Athina says, grabbing hold of Carl's hand and leading him in. "Well come on then—" Silvia stopped, not knowing this man's name. "Van Helsing, Gabriel Van Helsing." She nodded, and soon walked ahead of him; coaxing him in and soon, they too had disappeared. Heather sighed, before following them all—the portal soon closing with a soft _warp_…

* * *

**Author's Note: So here you all finally get to meet the other four girls: Susan, Heather, Silvia and Athina! While Susan, Athina and Silvia are fairies, Heather and Zatura are witches. (Not like the kind in _Harry Potter_ or from any other old folktales, might I just remind you) These girls were inspired by the show: _Winx Club_. Never heard of it? Well...look it up. I'm too lazy to explain it XD But, I could say the jist; basically, there are seemingly normal teenage girls who are fairies-each with their own special ability. (Like Susan said earlier in the story) Each fairy is in a specific state, really of how powerful they are. (_Pokemon _fans, think of an evolved form of a weaker evolution. Like, Magical Winx would be a Charmander, Charmix would be Charmeleon and Charizard would be Enchantix. (And Believix...the next stage) The fairy forms of the fairies will be revealed in the next chapter, but the witches (Heather and Zatura) are in what the fanbase likes to call: Gloomix. (A more powerful stage of magic for witches) So I hope you're all not confused. (If you were previously, I hope you're not now) But, anyways, I hope you like this chapter and favorite, watch and review! :) **

**_*Note: Susan belongs to: CyD12 (On deviantART & fanpop). Athina belongs to: Gretsel (On deviantART & fanpop). Heather belongs to: Twinxmaker (On deviantART)/winxlove2 (On fanpop ). Silvia belongs to: Flora-Bloom (On deviantART & fanpop) Zatura belongs to me. Do not take any of these characters, or use them in any way without my, or the owners consent. _  
**


	3. Chapter 3

_"Wake me, _

_Revolve in my wounds; lay down your enemy,_

_On the altar of refined deception.  
_

_Hate me,  
_

_I'm all over you; reset the harmony,  
_

_Like a fire in the night."  
_

_-Kamelot  
_

* * *

The feeling was strange, to say the least. Gabriel thought that he was being pulled softly by some unknown force, speeding closer and closer to a bright light. There was wind in this passage, yet there seemed to be no known force for causing this sensation to be felt or even occur. He could see each of the girl's hair blowing in the wind, as streaks of black, purple and even white zipped past them all; each strand swirling around; forming the outline of a tunnel around them. But, as soon as the whole trip occurred, it suddenly stopped as they each landed out of the portal unto cold, snow-covered land.

"Where are we?" Anna asks, rubbing the snow off of her pants. Heather look around, sighing—her breath clouding up and rising in front of her. "I'm not sure, but we should be at least close to where Dracula's castle is set up." Silvia looks around, her eyes narrowing to adjust to the sudden brightness. "I think I can see something in the distance," She says, pointing in the direction of a far-off black mass. "I can see it too!" Athina says excitedly. "Maybe we can finally save Zatura!"

"We only have one problem though, how are we supposed to get there without being noticed by either Dracula or his three brides?" Carl asks, everyone soon realizing the predicament that they had to face. "Well, we could always use our magic." Susan says, Anna nodding her head 'no'. "Dracula is far more powerful than his brides…I am sorry to say, but I doubt that you could take him on." Heather rolled her eyes at this statement. "I'm sure that we could handle some ancient bat." She spat, Gabriel giving her a warning glance. "I still don't see how you can act so nonchalant about this whole situation…your friend could have easily been killed." Heather narrowed her eyes at Van Helsing. "I know that Zatura can take care of herself…just because she's a girl doesn't mean she can't handle a few prissy brides and their ancient old-hag of a husband."

"Okay, that's enough!" Silvia snapped, getting in-between the two, glaring at Heather more than Gabriel. "We need to learn to work together and stop our constant squabbling if we want to save Zatura!" Susan nodded her head in agreement. "Silvia is right. Heather, you need to stop starting these fights! If Dracula is really as powerful as these two say he is, we should take their word for it." Heather sneered at Susan. "I'm glad that at least you three have sense." Anna says, Heather folding her arms to her chest angrily. "I don't see how he can be this powerful. He's only an old man…" She mumbles, Athina rolling her eyes. "So now that we've got that settled, let's think of a plan—" Gabriel begins, but is interrupted by Heather once again. "_Or _we could just walk over there. It's not like he's keeping watch of the place twenty-four-seven." Gabriel sighed, ignoring her remark. "Fine then, I'll just go there myself." She snaps, creating a black board of magic and hoping unto it—flying off into the direction of the castle.

"Heather!" Silvia snarled, groaning in frustration. "Stop, Heather, you don't know what you're getting yourself into!" Athina shouts, Heather ignoring both their calls. "We have to go after her." Susan snaps, Carl swiftly nodding 'no'. "There's no way I'm going after her. We don't even know her, and if she wants to be stupid and risk her life, than that's her decision!" Silvia glared angrily at Carl. "Heather might not be the most pleasant person to be around, but she's still a human being! And though she might not even be our closest friend, _I _still consider her to be one and if you think you can just abandoned her to the unmerciful wrath of this Dracula, than you are a horrible person!" An in a flash she had transformed. "Silvia is right, either you three stay here like cowards or come with us to save Zatura and Heather!" Athina snaps, transforming as well. "Yeah, come on girls—let's go save our friends!" Susan agrees, transforming as well.

The three monster hunters were stunned. "You three are so brave…" Anna whispers, suddenly having great appreciation towards the groups of young girls. Silvia gives the three brief glances before fluttering her wings and taking off after Heather; Susan and Athina following her closely behind. "We can't just let them go by themselves, they could easily be killed!" Anna snaps, Van Helsing flinching. "We can't just risk our own lives—or yours! Van Helsing and I were sent here to protect you Anna, and you just want us to waltz into Dracula's castle without any sort of rational plan? You could be kidnapped or worse, killed!" Van Helsing nodded, agreeing with Carl. Anna narrowed her eyes at the two men. "How can you both be so selfish? Those girls could die trying to protect their friends yet you two are far too cowardly to even do anything about it!" She unsheathed her sword, turning around—preparing to make her way after the girls. "Anna no! I can't let you go by yourself!" Van Helsing snaps, grabbing hold of her arm. Anna glares at him and shakes him off. "I am going to safe them and if you do not wish to come, than that it your problem!" And with that, she took off in the direction of the castle.

Carl swallowed, watching his friend closely to see his reaction. Gabriel merely stood there, stunned that Anna would do something so incredibly foolish and risky for people that she barely even knew. He couldn't just let her go after them on her own, no matter how dangerous it was. "Come on Carl," He finally said, Carl giving him a quizzical look. "Go? Go where?" Van Helsing took out his crossbow and swung it over his arm. "To Dracula's castle of course."

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"_The power sorceress; at your fingertips;_

_God made flesh perfect alibi…" _

_-Kamelot_

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_Oh god…it's so cold and my head…oh hell my head…eugh, I really need to wake up…I—wait, why can't I move? Oh shit, did someone drug me? Am I in paralysis? Wait, no I remember…fighting, and then those damn vampires…oh shit…wake up. _Zatura groggily opened one eye and then another, her vision blurred and pupils dilating as she tried to re-focus her vision. She craned her neck, hearing her muscles pop as they adjusted to the sudden movement. She groaned in pain, her vision finally clearing, allowing her to see her surroundings.

She was in a dingy stone room with one lone window, it having no shutters what-so-ever, allowing the cold wind and weather to enter the already horribly insulated room. The whole room was completely barren save for spider webs and snow that covered the room, and an old wooden door which was the only means of getting it or out. Zatura tried moving her arms but she couldn't. "What the…?" She looked at her arms and saw that they were shackled. She tried pulling them, but they were not as weak as she thought. "Okay, force won't work, let's try some magic…" She began focusing her magic to her wrists, trying to create enough to heat to snap them off.

_Bam! _She snapped her head up to see that the door was now open, an eerie feeling settling over her. She swallowed, her eyes narrowing to see what could have possibly entered the small room. "Well, well, I see that our little guest has awoken." Zatura glared at the darkness. "Who's there? Show yourself, coward." There was chuckling coming from all around her and her muscles poised for a fight; becoming tense and strong. "'Coward'? I am no such thing my dear." The voice cooed, before the figure of a man appeared. "Who are you?" Zatura spat, the man raising an eyebrow. "You do not remember?" Zatura furrowed her brows. _Who could this bastard be?_ She thought, the man laughing once more. "What's so damn funny?" The man walked over and placed his finger under her chin; forcing her to look at him. "You my dear, I cannot believe how ignorant you are over everything that had occurred between us." His eyes flashed a bright blue and features darkened for a split second. Zatura quickly yanked her face away.

Now she remembered; he was the damned creature that kidnapped her. "What do you want with me?" She snarled, Dracula smiling. "Nothing really…I was just planning on using you." Zatura glared daggers at this man. "_Nothing_? Using me doesn't seem like you're doing _nothing_." Dracula chuckled at her response. "Clever little thing, aren't you? Well, I saw—and my bride, Aleera—that you were with that monster hunter Gabriel Van Helsing. I need him. He and I, you see, need to have a talk…but that little Transylvanian princess that he's keeping under watch is someone who I must capture and kill." Zatura raised her eyebrow. "You mean Anna? What could you want with a wimpy little thing like her?" Dracula sighed; placing his hands behind his back and walking towards the window. "You see her family was given a prophecy; that in order for her and the rest of her family whom has died down the ages to enter Heaven, they must kill me. Since they have not yet been successful, I must find her and kill her before she or the insolent Van Helsing can have a chance at ridding me off of this world."

"Well then why the hell do you need me?" Dracula turned his attention back to Zatura. "I can use you as bait. It's obvious that Van Helsing will go after you and try to save you…bringing Anna to me." Zatura scoffed. "If you want her so badly, then why don't you just go and get her yourself? After all of the crap they've told me about your vast strength and abilities, they shouldn't stand a chance against you." Dracula smirked. "Yes, well…I cannot seem too desperate. I know that I will eventually have both of them in the palm of my hand so I needn't act rationally." Zatura nodded. "At least you're not going to act sloppy…that's what most killers end up doing and it eventually ends up being their demise." Dracula raised an eyebrow, intrigued by her comment. "So I'm above average intelligence, am I?" Zatura smirked, nodding 'yes'. "I can say that you are…you don't act rash and it seems like you've been planning this for quite some time now. You're calculated, and I can tell you're a sociopath…" Dracula smiled—this little witch was turning out to be quite interesting. "A sociopath, you say? Hmm…perhaps…but, I must say no. I do have feelings of compassion towards my brides which doesn't make me completely detached from having empathy towards another." Zatura nodded. "Well, I can relate. I can act coldly towards most people but have feelings for others…" She batted her eyelashes innocently at him, Dracula smiling in return.

Zatura grinned, her plan falling into place. She would flatter him, show interest in him, go-along with his plan and then abandon the poor sod. "You know, what if I went along with this little plan of yours? Would you let me go and allow me to assist you?" Dracula looked down at her, as if thinking the idea over. "How do I know that you won't betray me?" Zatura craned her neck to meet her eyes to his…well, the best she could in the position she was in. "I don't break my promises. Loyalty is something that is very important to me and once I promise to do something, I will stick to it—to the very end." Dracula smirked. Could he really trust this witch? She was indeed intriguing and very smart, but she also had a hint of deviousness inside her cunning little mind. She could either be his greatest ally, or his downfall. Yet, he could never know the result without giving her a chance. He knelt down and grabbed the chains, breaking them in one swift movement of his hand.

Zatura rubbed her wrists, gently taking hold of Dracula's hand and lifting herself up. "Thank you, Count." She said softly, Dracula smiling. "The pleasure was all mine—" He scrunched up his face, trying to deduce her name. "Zatura, my name is Zatura." Dracula nodded. "What a lovely name." Zatura chuckled, trying hard to hide her distaste. "Come, let me lead you out of this disgusting prison—" There was suddenly a gust of black dust as Aleera appeared, her eyes opaque and fangs elongated; obviously angry. "Master, we have spotted Anna and Van Helsing!" Dracula grinned. "This is excellent my dear, why do you sound so angry?" In a _pop_ Marishka had appeared. "They are not alone. There is a group of girls headed this way—and they are flying!" Dracula raised an eyebrow and turned to Zatura. "Could you know anything about these 'flying girls'?" Zatura furrowed her brow before nodding. "Yes, it must be the others…" Marishka glared at Zatura. "Others, what do you mean others?" Zatura rolled her eyes at the woman's stupidity. "I wasn't the only one sent here. There are other people like me and it's now obvious that they're coming this way to rescue me." Dracula turned to his two brides. "Fetch Van Helsing and Anna, anyone else you can kill…don't forget to inform Verona of this, either." The two women nodded, before vanishing in a black fog.

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Anna made her swift way after the girls as they continued racing off after Heather. "Susan!" She called out, the fairy of plants whirling around and speeding towards the princess. "Anna, what are you doing here? I thought you were with Gabriel and Carl?" Anna nodded her head. "No, I had to come after you girls. Dracula is very dangerous and I could not allow you to go by yourselves." Susan raised an eyebrow. "I thank you for this, but what about Gabriel and Carl? Did you just abandon them?" Anna rubbed her arm. "Well, no…I told them that I was leaving and if they did not wish to come they could stay—"

"But I couldn't just let you have all the fun, Anna." A voice chuckled, the two women whirling around to see Van Helsing and Carl making their way towards them. Van Helsing, Carl? You've decided to come?" Anna asks, rather surprised. "Of course, I couldn't leave you all alone…let alone have all the fun killing those vampires." There was a sudden flutter of wings and they all turned to see Athina, Silvia and even Heather fluttering there. "Heather?" Susan gasps, astonished. "Yeah, yeah…close your mouth tree-hugger, you look like a fish." Susan glared at her, but still gave her a playful smile. "Why did you come back?" Carl asks, Heather shrugging. "I don't know…though I don't really care for you all, I couldn't just waltz into Dracula's castle on my own. The guy can't die, and that's bad enough by itself. I need other people to help…and be the chums to do all the work." She snickered, the girls rolling their eyes.

"So, Gabriel, do _you _have a plan for us to get into the castle?" Silvia asks, a sudden shriek interrupting her. Athina jumps, squeaking and hiding behind Silvia. "What was that?!" She gasps; a sudden flutter of wings and snapping of branches signaling that they were all being watched…

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**Author's Note: Gosh this chapter was so long...much longer than I intended. I wanted to include a fight scene but that would have been way too much. I needed to add Zatura's part, I mean, I couldn't just leave her out. (Plus, we needed to see some more Dracula and brides anyways XD) Eh, I like it; the ending is a good spot to end-gives the chapter a climax ending :3 Anywho, I hoped you liked this chapter! Please favorite, review and follow.**


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